Colour blindness
For the colour blind, road maps become illegible, graphs and tables in textbooks often appear incomprehensible and the buttons and dials on ticket machines can be impossible to fathom. Lines marked out on floors (eg, for sports) can simply disappear from view, as can highlighted lines of text and icons on a computer screen.
These difficulties might be brushed off as minor inconveniences, but there can of course be very serious consequences of failing to distinguish colours correctly. Think of misreading traffic lights for example…or confusing the colours of the different wires in the domestic electricity supply. For those who cannot tell one colour from another there are potential dangers everywhere –on/off buttons on machines, warning labels on medicine and toxic substances, pills that are identified by colour – these are just a few obvious examples.
The potential problems have multiplied in recent years with the proliferation of electronic colour displays and the growth in the use of colour-coded information and warning panels not only in the home but in the places we work and spend our leisure time.
Many product developers, IT and graphic designers appear to be woefully unaware of this problem and through their failure to recognise the implications of their functional colour choices they are making like unnecessarily difficult for those who suffer from colour blindness. This really is a sorry state of affairs, considering that it is perfectly feasible in most circumstances to use colours that the colour blind are able to deal with. In short, inconsiderate and inappropriate use of colour is making life far more difficult for those with this handicap than it might otherwise be.
Blind Colour
An initiative of a scientist and a businessman, the latter afflicted by colour blindness himself, led to the creation of BLIND COLOR. This is an organisation that aims to make industry and society at large more aware of the problems relating to colour blindness. Wherever possible, BLIND COLOUR recommends solutions and demonstrates how those problems can be overcome.
BLIND COLOR advises many organisations, from the European Central Bank (for the colour of the Euro bank notes), to the producers of road maps and GPS navigation systems.
One of the recent successes of BLIND COLOR is the creation of the (draft) norm NPR 7022. It is expected that after formalising the current draft, the norm will be considered to become part of the European ISO norm. NPR 7022 deals with the functional use of colour, accommodating colour vision disorders.
The norm helps to prevent mistakes and accidents as a consequence of colour blind people not being able to distinguish colour. Manufacturers, designers and other users of this norm will have to create or adapt their products in such a way that people who can only distinguish part of the colour spectrum can handle them. The norm also gives indication for ‘redundant coding’. This is where two or more indications of functionality are combined (e.g. colour in conjunction with shape).
ACC System
We are proud that for the identification and specification of the functional colours for the ISO / NPR 7022 guideline, the ACC codification concept has been followed. This tool allowed the unambiguous identification of 12 colours that have optimal properties when combined in terms of being distinguishable by those who are colour blind.
The colours can be created in a variety of product qualities, using the functionality of the Akzo Nobel Mixing Machine concept. Stockists can be identified using the store locator function of this web site.
The colours that are specified in the NPR 7022 are
In line with the Akzo Nobel’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) commitment, we intend to use this specification reference and communicate its relevance, bringing it to the attention of specifiers, architects and creative designers everywhere. We intend to do what we can as a manufacturer. It is now up to this influential group of people, our target audience, to do what they can to improve the lives of a very large number of colour blind people.
